Maddox
Maddox is an author, former humorist and former host of The Biggest Problem in the Universe. The online alias of George Ozumiwumi, his career began in 1997 with the creation of The Best Page in the Universe, a personal blog and entertainment website. Though he made a handful of television appearances and published three books to limited acclaim, Maddox's final and most notable venture was The Biggest Problem in the Universe, a podcast he hosted alongside dangerous Dick Masterson and sassy Sean Jacobson from 2014 to 2016. ''The Best Page in the Universe'' ''(1997) Debuting in 1997, ''The Best Page in the Universe, known colloquially as Teebeepeepuu, was a satirical humor website Maddox developed as a vehicle to share his quirky yet mundane observations on life. Sparsely designed, the site functioned as a blog and featured the tagline: This page is about me and why everything I like is great The content of the page seldom differed from short, spontaneous rants with such notable blog entries as "The big list of things that suck," and "I HATE Celine Dion." Other topics included blockbuster films that failed to meet Maddox's standards, ill interactions with the public, hate mail, and Maddox's disdain for mimes. More diverse coverage explored the 2000 presidential election and proper restroom etiquette. In episode 1 of The Biggest Problem in the Universe, Dick Masterson considers Maddox the, "first internet satirist," and, "the guy who made rants cool." Elsewhere on the site were Maddox's artistic outlets such as MS paint drawings, photography, videos and a self-insert comic that portrayed Maddox as a manly swashbuckler. ''The Alphabet of Manliness (2006) In 2006 Maddox published ''The Alphabet of Manliness, a self-help-style manual aimed at bettering men's performance in social climates. The book is dedicated to none other than Maddox himself, opening with: To the love of my life, my soul mate, and the greatest person in the world: Me. Topics are arranged alphabetically starting with A'ss-Kicking, '''B'oner, and 'C'opping a Feel, and later exploring such concepts as Beef 'J'erky, 'L'umberjacks, and 'Y'elling. The book debuted as the #4 New York Times Bestseller for 10 weeks. Lousy with hyperbole and non sequitur, Alphabet bridges hyper-masculine imprudence with sex humor and tangential nonsense. It was funny, insightful, outrageous, and an honest reflection of the minds of college-age youth. Following the success of Alphabet that Maddox published The Best Comic in the Universe and hosted book signings where he adorned himself in a crown and robe. So too did he move to The City of Failure. Maddox / The Best Show in the Universe (2007) Maddox's YouTube debut was a video uploaded on the 3rd of March entitled "Mac morons can't talk without using their hands." and showed advertisements for the iMac computer wherein satisfied customers use somewhat excessive hand gestures to get their point across. On 28th July, 2010 Maddox released "The Best Show in the Universe - Episode 01 - YouTube Kids" which was more or less a Best Page article in video format - with Maddox standing in front of an animated background ranting over a given topic. The series received several installments over the next nine years and the Maddox channel itself later hosted episodes of The Biggest Problem in the Universe - LIVE where Maddox and co-host Dick Masterson performed before a live studio audience. Manformation (2010) Maddox met Dr. Phil whistle-blower and famed Mexican Dick Masterson sometime around 2006 when the two worked together at UCB Theater in Los Angeles, a comedy club that showcased local talent. This was also where Maddox met much of the future Biggest Problem guests such as Asterios Kokinos. Dick and Maddox regularly performed at improv events hosted by the theater, and in 2008, inspired by both men's style of "manly man" humor, unsuccessfully pitched Man Show to executives at an unnamed network. They returned in 2010 alongside Thom Beers and Original Productions (the studio behind Deadliest Catch and 1000 Ways to Die) successfully pitching Manformation; a late-night talk comedy show starring Dick and Maddox. “Manformation” aims to showcase everyday guys who have had extraordinary experiences, such as the convenience store clerk who fought off a robbery attempt or a stock broker who left Wall Street for a hitch in the military." ''-Variety'' The show never reached the pilot phase and all records of its existence come from outside sources. It was around this time that Alphabet was given a special expanded edition. I Am Better Than Your Kids (2011) Maddox's double dip into the salsa of literature came in the form of I Am Better Than Your Kids, a book based on his 1997 Teebeepeepuu article of the same name. The book features a plethora of drawings from children Maddox gathered in order to "roast," the book has 158 five-star reviews on Amazon, some declaring the book a suitable bathroom read. The book was revised in 2012 as Crappy Children's Art. The Biggest Problem in the Universe (2014-2016) The first episode of BPU aired on 20th May, 2014 starring Maddox and Dick Masterson featuring Sean the Audio Engineer. The show's premise was debate-style, where Dick and Maddox would each bring in a problem and argue over which was the biggest in the universe. Listeners would then vote for their chosen problem on the BPU website. The host whose argument garnered the most votes would go for a victory lap at the start of each subsequent episode. The show was a hit and cemented both Dick and Maddox as pillars in the field of professional comedy podcasting. So too was also the first piece of "raw" media for Maddox, as it was his first entertainment venture that was not text-based nor rehearsed. "I'm Dick Masterson and the biggest problem in the universe is you Maddox." ''-The Biggest Problem in the Universe ''episode 1 The hosts' clash in politics, background, approach and personality spawned some of the show's greatest content, yet so too did it yield the show's eventual climax. Dick Masterson's approach was comedic - running a comedy podcast with no real standpoints and no real hostility. Maddox, on the other hand, slowly grew to take on an argumentative stance; intent on solving the issues he brought up. Thus the topics and their subsequent tiffs grew intense beyond what was actually funny. The show ran from May 2014 to May 2016 and featured 106 regular episodes, 18 bonus episodes (also known as "solutions") and 1 epilogue episode (episode 107) which aired on May 31st, 2016. The show ended abruptly sometime after May 24th due to ongoing personal and artistic differences between the hosts. However, as time went on and those involved with the show grew further apart, more details emerged surrounding the schism of Dick, Maddox, and Sean, eventually spiraling into one of the greatest pieces of goss the world has ever seen. ''The Best Debate in the Universe (2016-)'' On June 7th, 2016 Maddox released the first episode of The Best Debate in the Universe, a podcast where two relevant topics are debated over by none other than Maddox, who represents both sides of the argument. The show works for nobody except Maddox, who finally has no pesky co-hosts to deal with and no audience to disappoint. 'The Dick Feud ' Conflict between Dick and Maddox was not unusual during the heyday of Biggest Problem. The perspective divide between them had worn thin, and it was, on an increasing number of occasions, plain to see the erosion of their professional relationship. Dick later expressed that he and Maddox simply weren't friends outside of BPU. On the 3rd of November, 2015, episode 77 of BPU aired featuring special guest Asterios Kokinos. Maddox mentioned in the intro that Dick couldn't make it to the recording. '''The LOLsuit In November of 2017 Maddox sued Dick Masterson, Asterios Kokkinos, Patreon, and a host of individuals linked to Dick and Asterios' professional relationships. The suit was a legal abortion. Maddox's claims were thrown out due to no jurisdiction because they were filed in the wrong state, and nobody, not even the plaintiff, could properly define why the case was ordered at all. Two sets of counter-sanctions from Asterios' group were ordered in California but nothing became of them. Maddox's lawyer declared that he would re-plea in a Los Angeles court but this was never done.